Our sustainability strategy at a glance

Our value

We are committed to leadership in sustainability.

Our definition

Sustainability: "In 2050, 9 billion people live well and within the resource limits of the planet." We have adopted this definition from the Vision 2050 of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Leadership: We pioneer new solutions to sustainability challenges while continuing to shape our business responsibly and increase our economic success on the basis of a long-term goal, clear five-year targets, and strategic principles.

Our strategy

Achieving more with less: We create more value for our customers and consumers, for the communities we operate in, and for our company – at a reduced ecological footprint.

Our instruments for implementing the strategy

20-year goal for 2030: Triple the value we create for the footprint made by our operations, products and services. We summarize this ambition to become three times more efficient as "Factor 3."

5-year targets for 2015: With our 20-year goal in mind, we have set concrete interim targets for our focal areas (see graphic). Overall, we aim to increase our efficiency by 30 percent by the end of 2015 – that is, an improvement of five to six percent per year.

Six focal areas: We concentrate our activities along the value chain on six focal areas that reflect the challenges of sustainable development as they relate to our operations. We group these into two dimensions: "more value" and "reduced footprint."

Three strategic principles: To successfully implement our strategy and drive sustainability in our business processes, we have defined three strategic principles – products, partners, and people.